Aust was a chapelry to Henbury Ancient Parish in the county of Gloucestershire. The civil parish of Aust includes the villages of Elberton and Littleton-upon-Severn.
Parish church: St John. The existing church is dedicated to St John, and is mostly built in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The timber roofs and octagonal stone font date from the 15th century, and the western church tower, with an embattled parapet, was probably rebuilt in the Tudor period. The church contains several 18th century marble memorial tablets, the earliest dated 1704 to Sir Samuel Astry. The whole church was restored in 1866 by the firm of Pope & Bindon1.
Parish registers begin: 1538
Nonconformists include:
Parishes near to Aust
- Westbury-on-Trym
- Filton
- Kingsdown St Matthew
- Elberton
- Almondsbury
- Compton Greenfield
- Shirehampton
- Olveston
- Henbury
Historical Descriptions
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
AUST, or Aust Clive, a village and a chapelry in Henbury parish, Gloucester. The village stands on the E shore of the Severn, 2 miles distant from the South Wales and the Bristol and Wales railways, 3½ W by S of Thornbury; and has a post office, of the name of Old Passage, under Bristol. A ferry is here on the Severn, 2 miles over, to Chepstow, and bears the name of the Old passage, to distinguish it from the New passage, which is 2 miles lower down the river. This was the ancient Trajectus, where the Roman legions used to be ferried over; and was also the place where Edward I. passed over to hold a conference with Llewelyn. The chapelry is a tything. Acres, 1,200. Real property, £2,398. Pop., 187. Houses, 39. The property is not much divided. Much of the surface is marshy. Clays, alabaster, strontian, and some interesting fossils are found. The living is a p. curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Henbury, in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. The church is externally good.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
LEONARD’S GAZETTEER OF ENGLAND AND WALES 1850
Aust, 8 miles Bristol. P. 191
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.
THE PARLIAMENTARY GAZETTEER OF ENGLAND AND WALES 1840
Aust, or Aust-Cleve, a tything and chapelry in the parish of Henbury, Gloucestershire; 4 miles west-south-west from Thornbury; 12 north-west from Bristol. Living, a curacy, formerly in the archd. of Gloucester, now in that of Bristol, and dio. of Gloucester and Bristol, of the certified value of £20. Patron, the vicar of Henbury. Charities connected with this chapelry produce the yearly sum of £21 10s. The village stands among the salt-marshes on the eastern bank of the Severn, over which, at this place, there is a ferry to Chepstow, called the Old passage, to distinguish it from the New passage, which is two miles lower down the river. At this place Edward I. passed over to hold a conference with Llewellan, the last prince of Wales. Pop., in 1801, 140; in 1831, 203. Houses 31. Acres 1,200. Poor rates, in 1837, £92.
Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1840.
TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND 1833
Aust, or Aust-Clive, co. Gloucester.
P. T. Thornbury (120) 4 m. WSW. Pop. 192.
A tything and chapelry in the parish of Henbury, in the hundred of Upper Henbury. The living is a curacy in the archdeaconry of Gloucester and diocese of Bristol; certified value 20l.; patronage with the vicarage of Henbury. This village is situated amidst the salt marshes on the banks of the Severn, over which river there is a ferry to the mouth of the Wigan. It is called the Old Passage, to distinguish it from the New Passage, which is two miles lower down the river. It was at this place Edward I. passed to hold a conference with Llewellyn, the last prince of Wales.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. The Irish and Welsh articles by G. N. Wright; Vol. I; London; Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand; 1833.
Parish Records
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Directories
Aust Kellys Gloucestershire Directory 1863
Aust is a tithing and village, 10½ miles north-west from Yate station, 28 south from Gloucester, 12 north from Bristol, and 122 from London, in Henbury township, parish and hundred, Thornbury union and county court district, West Gloucestershire, Bristol rural deanery and archdeaconry, and Gloucester and Bristol bishopric. It is situated on the navigable river Severn, and on the high road from Sodbury to the Old Passage ferry, crossing the Severn to Chepstow. The church is an old stone building in the Gothic style, with nave, chancel, porch, square embattled tower with 4 bells, and a curious old font; it is said to be a church in which Wickliffe often officiated. The living is a lectureship and curacy attached to Henbury, together with Northwick and Kedwick, in the gift of the trustees and the vicar of Henbury; the gross value of the lectureship and curacy is £120, with residence and 3 acres of pasture land; the Rev. Richard William Vigors, B.A., of Trinity College, Dublin, is the incumbent.
There is an Infant school at Aust and Redwick, and an Endowed school at Northwick. The old Roman passage of Augustus is in this parish — hence its name. There are traces of the fosse road to Cirencester. The cliff contains a rich bed of fossil bones and gypsum. The population of Aust in 1861 was 187, and the acreage is 933. The soil Is clay and loam; the subsoil is new red sandstone and blue lias. Robert C. Lippincott, Esq. (lord of the manor), and W. O. Maclaine, Esq., arc chief landowners. There are charities of £1 10s. yearly value for bread to be given away on St. John’s-day; also an endowment of £20 yearly towards the expenses of divine service.
Cote Farm is half a mile north.
Parrott William, esq
Vigors Rev. Richd. Wm. B.A. [incumbnt]
COMMERCIAL.
Alway John, fanner, Aust farm
Bennett William C. farmer
Collins Amelia (Miss), shopkeeper
Cornock Wm. farmer, Tan House farm
Griffin Enos, butcher
Hicks Thomas, blacksmith
Higgins John, farmer
Parker William, farmer
Parrott Esther (Mrs.), farmer
Parrott Frederick, farmer
Pendock Sarah (Mrs.), farmer
Pendock William, farmer
Price William, beer retailer
Russell Emma (Miss), Old Boar’s Head
Thurston Anselm, carpenter & wheelwrght
Tingle George, sergeant of police
York George, Old Passage hotel, & licensed to let post horses.
Post Office.— Mary Lee, postmistress. Letters arrive from Bristol at 10.30 a.m.; dispatched at 4 p.m. winter (Oct. to Feb.) & 5 p.m. summer (March to Sept.) The nearest money order office is at Thornbury.
Source: Post Office Directory of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and the City of Bristol, Printed and Published by Kelly and Co., Old Boswell Court, St. Clement’s, Strand, London. 1863.
Aust Kellys Gloucestershire Directory 1856
Aust is a tithing and village, 10 ½ miles north-west from Yate station, 28 south from Gloucester, 12 north from Bristol, and 122 from London, in Henbury township, parish and Hundred, Thornbury Union, West Gloucestershire, Bristol archdeaconry, and Gloucester and Bristol bishopric. It is situate on the navigable river Severn, and on the high road from Sodbury to the Old Passage. The church is an old stone building, in the Gothic style, with nave, chancel, porch, square embattled tower with 4 bells, and a curious old font. The living is a curacy, attached to Henbury, in the gift of the vicar of Henbury; the Rev. H. L. M. Walters, M.A., is the incumbent. There is an Infant school. The old Roman passage of Augustus is in this parish – hence its name. there are traces of the fosse road to Cirencester. The cliff contains a rich bed of fossil bones and gypsum. The population, in 1851, was 213; and the acreage is 933. The soil is clay and loam; the subsoil is new red sandstone and blue lias. Robert C. Lippincott, Esq., is lord of the manor, and, with W. O. Maclaine, Esq., is chief landowner. There are charities of £1 10s. yearly value for bread on St. John’s day; also an endowment of £20 yearly towards the expenses of divine service.
Tanhouse is a farm; Cote Farm is a half a mile north.
Walters Rev. Henry L. M. Parsonage
Always John, farmer, Aust farm
Bennett William, farmer
Collins Amelia (Miss), shopkeeper
Cornock William, farmer, Tan ho. farm
Griffin Charles, butcher
Hicks William, blacksmith
Parrott Edward, farmer
Parrott William, farmer
Pendock William, jun. farmer
Pendock William, sen. farmer
Thurston Anselm, carpenter & wheelwrt.
Robertson Edward Oakley, ‘Old Boar’s Head’
York Geo., Old Passage hotel, & postmastr.
Post Office. – ‘Old Passage house,’ George York, postmaster. Letters arrive by mail coach from Bristol, at ½ past 10; dispatched 5 p.m.; second arrival, 6 p.m.; dispatched 12 next day. The nearest money order office is at Thornbury.
Source: Post Office Directory of Gloucestershire with Bath and Bristol. Printed and Published by Kelly and Co., 19, 20 & 21, Old Boswell Court, St. Clement’s, Strand, London. 1856.
Administration
- County: Gloucestershire
- Civil Registration District: Clifton
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Pre 1836 – Gloucester, Post 1835 – Gloucester and Bristol
- Rural Deanery: Bristol
- Poor Law Union: Clifton, Thornbury
- Hundred: Berkeley (Gloucestershire); Henbury
- Province: Canterbury
- David Verey; Alan Brooks (January 2002). The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire. Yale University Press. pp. 100, 158–159. ISBN 978-0-300-09733-7.
